The fourth Partnership meeting in Granada, Spain

On November 17th  and 18th , the European partners of the OSS project visited the province of Granada (Spain), in the fourth face-to-face meeting of the project, and the first after the sanitary crisis due to Covid 19, which forced all study visits planned before the end of the project first phase, were carried out virtually.

 
This situation allowed that the meeting was especially unique, since it is the first time that the partners have met since September 2019.
The agenda was developed in two days.

 
Given that the project is already in its second phase, the first meeting on the morning of the 17th focused on the review of the implementation process of the Action Plans developed by the partners, in which they shared the experiences arising from the launching of the actions identified by those documents.

 
After a short break, the official opening of the meeting took place, by the Deputy of employment and sustainable development Department of the Provincial Council of Granada, Ana Muñoz that was followed by a presentation carried by the General Director of employment and sustainable development, José Mateos, showing some of the projects to support entrepreneurship led by the Provincial Council. The morning session finished with a talk on sustainable business management, thanks to Karolien Van Riel from the AP UAS University of Belgium.

 
Next, it was scheduled the visit to the coast of the province, specifically to Motril. The objective was to go deeper in one of the projects promoted by the Provincial Council of Granada, “Sabor Granada”, a brand that brings together different businesses of the agri-food sector of the province, to facilitate its internalization, digitalization and promotion. One of the companies that take part of “Sabor Granada” is “La Caña” businesses group, an example of entrepreneurship with more than 40 years of experience, dedicated to the commercialization of fruits and vegetables produced on the Granada coast. This group is an example of how the public-private alliance allows the creation of wealth and development, as well as the creation of a significant number of jobs. The partners had the opportunity of knowing the plant for the classification of different fruits and vegetables, as well as the process of conservation, labeling and packaging.

 
The day 18th was focused on learning about another of the projects launched by the Provincial Council of Granada, the Geopark of the north of the province, recognized as one of the World Geoparks by UNESCO in 2020, and that includes 47 municipalities of the province, promoted as a tourist destination since its recognition. For the visit, the group of European partners had to travel to the city of Guadix, where they were received at the facilities of the Tourist Office. In addition to the more institutional presentation, there was the experience of two entrepreneurs from the area, one who runs sports events and another that manages cave houses accommodation association. The day was completed by visiting the interpretation center of the cave houses, so that the partners could better understand the concept of a cave house, to finish with a visit to the Muñana wine cellar, another SME in the area that is responsible for the production of wines that are exported to a significant number of countries inside and outside the European Union.

 
These two days have been an extraordinary opportunity of strengthen the common objectives of the OSS project partners, and to continue the construction of the European project through the exchange of experiences and successful initiatives.